ASCD Awarded Grant to Offer Free Virtual Teacher Networks

Alexandria, VA (08/06/2013)—ASCD, the global leader in providing programs, products, and services that empower educators to support the success of each learner, has been awarded a two-year grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to provide educators with free, ongoing virtual professional development (PD) trainings on the instructional shifts of the Common Core State Standards.

The virtual PD networks, facilitated by ASCD expert faculty and consultants, will cover math, English language arts literacy, literacy shifts for science, and literacy shifts for social science. The designated ASCD Faculty member will develop a syllabus to guide the two-year professional learning course that has been aligned to the shifts in each of the respective content areas.

"These virtual teacher networks add another dimension to resources for teachers and fill a gap by combining webinars with online communities for discussion," said ASCD Director for Tools for Teachers Sherida Britt. "ASCD teachers will have access to multiple PD models, led by national experts, for the focus of expanding teacher networks beyond the walls of the school building."

The webinars will allow teachers to interact in real time with a designated faculty member, and will be archived for later access, enabling educators to participate at their convenience.

Additionally, educators will be able to engage with and learn from one another through virtual professional learning communities created for each strand on the ASCD EDge® social networking platform, which currently has more than 60,000 registered users. ASCD EDge enables participants in each learning group to explore topics in greater depth while sharing resources with other members.

"The shifts in instruction brought about by the Common Core demand that teachers not only have deep content knowledge, but also skill in implementing best instructional practices," said ASCD Executive Director and CEO Dr. Gene R. Carter. "ASCD has the right experts to help guide educators through this tricky transition time, and we are proud to be offering both real-time and at-leisure options for the busy educator."

For more information about ASCD or ASCD membership, please visit www.ascd.org. To learn more about ASCD's professional development resources and to sign up for free trials of ASCD’s online learning programs, please visit www.ascd.org/pd.